Folders having pockets are well known per se and already widely used in installations for automatically processing mail. The commonest varieties have two pockets for folding the documents they receive in three by forming two folds in the documents.
In order to form each fold, each pocket co-operates with three folding rollers. One of these three rollers, referred to as the "first" roller is disposed tangentially to the other two rollers. The pocket in question has an open end for document access mounted between the two second rollers and facing the first roller.
In operation, one of the second rollers and the first roller insert and advance the document to be folded into the pocket in question. The document comes into abutment inside the pocket while it is still being advanced, thereby forming a buckle in front of the access end of the pocket. The buckle is taken up and captured between the first roller and the other second roller, thereby forming the desired fold and ejecting the document folded in this way.
Some such folders have their two pockets disposed in parallel. A set of five folding rollers is then associated with the two pockets which extend from the same side of the set of rollers. One of the above-mentioned second rollers for each pocket is then used in common for both pockets. It is used for forming the first fold for the first pocket receiving the document, and also for inserting the document into the second pocket, first fold foremost.
Other folders have their two pockets disposed in a non-parallel configuration along the arms of a truncated V-shape, in which case the pockets are associated with a set of four folding rollers. The above-mentioned first roller for each pocket is common to both pockets. There are three other rollers tangentially disposed around its periphery, constituting the above-mentioned second rollers for each pocket, with one of them being common to both pockets. The first roller is then used in common for inserting and advancing the document into the first pocket, for forming the first fold in association with this first pocket, for inserting the document, first fold foremost, into the second pocket, and finally for making the second fold in association with this second pocket and ejecting the document folded in three. These folders with a V-configuration of pockets take up less longitudinal space than do folders having parallel pockets.
In folders having pockets, the pockets themselves are formed by cassettes, or flat boxes, or the like.
One of the small faces of each cassette is open and defines the access end for documents engaging the pocket. At the opposite end to the access end, the small rear wall and/or an internal abutment prevent the document from advancing further into the cassette, thereby serving to form a buckle ahead of the pocket and the fold which results therefrom.
In such folders, it is possible to modify the lengths of the folds to be formed, thus the positions of the fold lines across the documents. This can be done by having an internal abutment in each pocket which is adjustable in position relative to the access opening. It is also possible to make only one fold. In one of the pockets the adjustable or removable internal abutment is then replaced by its small rear wall whereas in the other pocket its access end is closed or the entire pocket is removable from the folder and is replaced by a guide deflector.
Such folders with pockets in the form of cassettes or flat boxes are widely sold. In operation, the main drawback of such folders with pockets lies in the difficulty of clearing such jams as may occur. Jams occur in particular when the documents to be folded together have different dimensional characteristics. Clearing jams is awkward because of difficulties in gaining access to the document path.
Patent document U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,101 describes a folder having two pockets disposed in a V-configuration facing a set of folding rollers. This folder is made compact and operates at a low noise level so as to be usable as an office machine. In addition, provision is made for gaining access to the inside of the pockets when the machine is opened for the purpose of clearing jams.
To achieve this aim, this prior folder is formed inside a two-part housing defining a base and a lid. The lid is pivoted to the rear of the base for the purpose of opening the folder. The set of folding rollers receives the sheets to be folded from an inlet provided in the lid, and it delivers them folded via an outlet provided in the base. In this prior folder, a first one of the two pockets is defined in the lid by a top wall of the lid and by a parallel bottom wall which is pivoted to the lid. The second pocket is defined in the base by a bottom wall of the base and by a parallel top wall which is pivoted to the base.
The top wall of the lid for the first pocket and the bottom wall of the base for the second pocket are integrally molded with the lid and the base. The bottom wall of the first pocket has its rear end which is distant from the set of rollers hinged to the lid; it opens naturally when the lid is raised. The top wall of the second pocket has its front end, close to the set of rollers hinged to the base; its rear end rests on an abutment of the base and it can be opened by hand when the lid is raised. In addition, this top wall of the second pocket carries separator means for holding the bottom wall of the first pocket in place when the lid is closed.
The folder of this prior document provides a partial solution to problems of clearing a jam at the pockets, even though access to the inside of the second pocket remains rather awkward. However, it does not provide open access to the entire document path. In addition, the housing which enables opening pockets to be obtained is complex in shape. Further, it makes access to the components during assembly and maintenance rather awkward and it limits the number of add-on components that it can receive, and consequently constitutes a limiting factor on the design of the folder itself and on its utilization in an integrated and fully automatic folding and insertion machine.
The object of the present invention is to avoid the above-mentioned drawbacks by considerably increasing access to the inside of the folder and by making it easier to manufacture.